March 14, 2015
MESA, Ariz. — On a day where birdies were hard to come by, the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team saved its best for last.
The Fighting Irish carded six birdies among their final three players on the course to maintain a solid grip on second place following Saturday’s second round at the fourth annual Clover Cup, hosted by Notre Dame at the Longbow Golf Club (par 72/6,184 yards) in Mesa, Arizona.
No. 32 Notre Dame posted a two-round score of 21-over par 597 (296-301), putting the Fighting Irish seven shots back of 26th-ranked Arizona State heading into Sunday’s final round. Oklahoma rounds out the top three in the 15-team field, six strokes behind Notre Dame at 603.
“Today was a struggle, no question about it,” Fighting Irish head coach Susan Holt said. “We did make up some ground in the final three holes, which was encouraging, but we also left a lot of shots on the course.”
Junior Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) is Notre Dame’s top individual through two rounds, currently owning a share of fifth place at two-over par 146 (72-74). Campbell was the poster child for the Fighting Irish roller-coaster round on Saturday, making the turn at even-par, but then giving up five shots in a four-hole span early on the back nine. However, Campbell showed her veteran mettle with birdies on three of her final four holes, building solid momentum for Sunday’s closing round.
Momentum also fueled senior captain Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor), who is tied for seventh through two rounds at three-over par 147 (76-71). Armstrong had two late birdies on Friday, then logged another on her opening hole Saturday before reeling off eight consecutive pars. She then traded off a bogey and birdie to open her back nine before closing with another string of seven pars in a row, leaving Armstrong in position for her third consecutive top-10 finish and fourth of the season.
Sophomore Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) is tied for 18th place at seven-over par 151 (73-78). Ferreira battled through three early bogeys before settling down through the middle of her round. She then marked up her scorecard on the final seven holes with five bogeys countered by two birdies.
Senior Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) is tied for 24th place at nine-over par 153 (75-78) after finding herself digging out of early trouble throughout Saturday’s second round. Oride carried bogeys on four of her first five holes and had to grind out the remainder of her round, although a birdie on No. 17 provided some relief heading into the final 18 holes.
Freshman Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) is tied for 67th place at 19-over par 163 (84-79). The Fighting Irish rookie showed improvement on Saturday, shaving five strokes off her opening-round score.
Notre Dame also has two players competing as individual participants this weekend. Sophomore Janie Fineis (East Lansing, Mich./Lansing Catholic) is tied for 79th place at 24-over par 168 (85-83), while freshman Alison Snakard (Collegeville, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) is in 84th place at 172 (86-86).
Notre Dame will tee off at 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. MST Sunday in the final round of the Clover Cup, with live scoring available through the BirdieFire web site (www.birdiefire.com).
“Our finish on Saturday puts us in a position where we’re still in contention for the tournament title,” Holt said. “If we can maintain that momentum, follow the game plan and come through with some putts in important situations, we’ll be right there down the stretch.”
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter pages (@NDsidMasters or @NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Notre Dame Clover Cup
March 13-14, 2015 — Through Two Rounds
Longbow Golf Club (par 72/6,184 yards)
Mesa, Ariz.
TEAM SCORES (36-hole totals): 1. Arizona State 590 (295-295); 2. NOTRE DAME 597 (296-301); 3. Oklahoma 603 (297-306); 4. SMU 610 (308-302); 5. (tie) TCU 611 (310-301) and Florida International 611 (306-305); 7. East Carolina 615 (307-308); 8. Nebraska 616 (318-298); 9. (tie) South Florida 618 (315-303) and Cincinnati 618 (313-305); 11. (tie) UNC Wilmington 631 (326-305) and Tulsa 631 (321-310); 13. Sam Houston State 633 (319-314); 14. Ole Miss 637 (318-319); 15. Georgia State 643 (312-331).
TOP NINE INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 89): 1. (tie) Monica Vaughn (ASU) 140 (69-71) and Hannah Wood (OU) 140 (69-71); 3. Annette Lyche (UNCW) 142 (74-68); 4. Jordan Chael (NU) 145 (75-70); 5. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 146 (72-74) and Noemi Jimenez (ASU) 146 (74-72); 7. (tie) Ashley Armstrong (ND) 147 (76-71), Jenny Haglund (SMU) 147 (71-76) and Paige Nelson (SHSU) 147 (75-72); 18. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) 151 (73-78); 24. (tie) Kelli Oride (ND) 153 (75-78); 67. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 163 (84-79); 79. (tie) Janie Fineis (ND)* 168 (85-83); 84. Alison Snakard (ND)* 172 (86-86).
* – competing as individual participant